86 
MUSHROOMS, HOW TO GROW THEM. 
Black colored spawn is to be avoided, as a rule, and 
when the black appearance is very prevalent in a cargo 
of bricks it is a strong indication that the spawn has 
not run its course; and as it is not expected to do so 
after it has reached the hands of the retailer it is econ¬ 
omy to cast it aside. Some persons break a brick into 
several pieces to see how it looks inside. To the experi¬ 
enced eye this is not necessary, or even to lay hands 
upon it, as the outward moldy appearance is the best of 
all evidence of its healthy vitality, and this never exists 
if the bricks have lost their germinating power, except¬ 
ing, of course, where they have been kept damp, and the 
spawn has spent its power, which is detected by the 
white threads appearing in great quantity.” 
American-made Spawn. —So far as I have been 
able to find out by diligent inquiry, mushroom spawn is 
not made for sale in this country. But I am informed 
that a few growers do save and use their own flake spawn. 
Some of our principal growers, Van Siclen, Gardner, 
and Henshaw, for instance, in time past attempted to 
make their own spawn, but with only partial success, 
and now they confine themselves to the imported article. 
But this state of affairs can not long continue. The 
demand here for fresh mushrooms is so great, the indus¬ 
try of mushroom-growing so important, the price of 
imported spawn so high, and the quantity of foreign 
spawn imported annually into this country is so large, 
that, before long, we hope some one will find it to his 
advantage to make a specialty of growing mushroom 
spawn in this country to supply the American market. 
There is no practical operation in connection with the 
cultivation of mushrooms so little known or understood 
by the general grower as the growing (or “making,” as 
it is commonly called) and preserving of mushroom 
spawn. General cultivators in England and France 
(outside of the Paris caves) do not make their own 
